Hem gage



N. M. BEADLE oct. 14,-V 1958 HEM GAGE `Filed Sept. 13, 1955 IN V EN TOR. /V'll M. 634 0L E Troma/fr 2,855,674 HEM GAGE' Nellie M; Beadle, Applegate, Mich. Application September 13, 1955, Serial No. 533,960

2 Claims. (Cl. 33-2) This invention relates to a hem gage or guide for use in tailoring, dressmaking, and general sewing.

Hem gages and guides and other means for establishing the regular depth of a hem in sewing have been employed heretofore to facilitate the accuracy of the hem dimension and the speed of forming the hem, however, the several devices of the prior art have not proven entirely satisfactory inasmuch as they are complicated in design and construction, expensive to manufacture, difcult to use, inaccurate in application, and cumbersome in connection with pinning, sewing, or otherwise securing the hem.

With the foregoing in view, the primary object of the invention is to provide a hem gage or guide which is simple in design and construction, inexpensive to manufacture, easy to use, easy to move in the hem, and easy to pin or otherwise secure the hem at the desired width.

An object of the invention is to provide a hem guide which can be manufactured cheaper as the integral parts are easily made and the integration of the device can be readily accomplished.

An object of the invention is to provide a hem guide which can be operated with ease by a professional tailor, seamstress, or the amateur user.

An object of the invention is to provide a hern guide which can be made to suit any and all sizes of hems or material without changes in the assembly or the arrangement of parts.

An object of the invention is to provide a hem guide which moves easily along the trough of a hem and engages the free end of the hem in spaced relationship to the trough or bottom of the hem.

An object of the invention is to provide a hem guide which provides a pinning area relative to the guide structure so integrated that the guide can be easily moved to the next position after the cloth is pinned.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent by reference to the following description of the hem guide or gage embodying the invention taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the preferred embodiment of the hem guide.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the hem guide as seen in Fig. 1 in conjunction with a material having a hem showing the gage in depth regulating relationship to the hem.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing a wider hem engaging another portion of the hem gage.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing a modified version of the hem guide having an adjustable cross arm.

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of Fig. 4 taken on the line 5 5 thereof'showing the sliding and securing integration; and

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of Fig. 4 taken on line 66 showing the guide spacers.

Referring now to the drawing wherein like numerals refer to like and corresponding parts throughout the several views, the hem gage disclosed therein to illus- Patented Oct. 14, 1958 ICC trate the invention comprises a slide bar adapted to ride in the trough of a hem and a hem edge engaging cross bar adapted to engage the free edge of the hem so as to space the amount of free edge of the hem above the trough of the hem so as to accurately determine the width of the hem.

More particularly, the inventive hem guide comprises a bottom slide bar 10 adapted to ride at the bottom or the trough of a hem 12 having a material body portion 13 and a material folded free edge portion 14 comprising the side elements of the hem 12 and the bottom portion 15 of the hem whichcomprises the trough, bottom, or portion of the hem against which the slide bar 10 rests. The riser 16 is connected to the slide bar 10 at one end thereof and rises thereabove a desired distance and is connected at its top end to the cross bar 17 which cantilevers from the riser 16 parallel to the slide bar 10 in spaced relationship thereto. The desired spacing in the device is integrated between the bottom edge 11 of the cross bar 17 and the bottom edge 18 of the slide bar 10. The centrally disposed depending finger 19 extends from the cross bar 17 and projects toward the slide bar and the depending toe 20 projects from the cantilevered end of the cross bar 17 and extends toward the slide bar 10 so that when the device is used with the hem, Fig. 2, the slide bar 10 rides with its bottom edge 18 in contact with the bottom 15 of the hem 12 trough; the edge 21 of the hem is disposed over the riser 16 and under the projecting linger 19 and over the depending toe 20 so that the edge 21 of the folded back portion of the hem 14 is held in edgewise contact with the bottom edge 11 of the cross bar 17.

The stem 22 is connectedy to the central portion of the cross bar 17 and rises thereabove and the cross bars 23 and 24 are connected to the stem 22 at desired intervals spaced above the bottom edge 18 of the slide bar 10; the slide bar 23 is equipped with depending toes 25 and 26 at the ends thereof and the cross bar 24 is equipped with like depending toes 27 and 28 at the ends thereof.

Referring to Fig. 3 it will be noted that the wider hem 12A has a free edge 21A which is in contact with the bottom edge 11A of the cross bar 23 and thereby spacing the hem between the bottom edge 11A of the cross bar 23 and the bottom 18 of the slide bar 10. When a still wider hem is desired, the free edge of the hem is placed in contact with the bottoni edge 11B of the cross bar 24 similar to that'seen in Fig. 3, and it is obvious that the stem 22 can be extended and additional cross bars placed thereon to provide for wider herns. It is also obvious that the cross bars can be placed closer together for more closely gaged hem constructions.

Referring now to the device of Figs. 4 6 it will be noted that the bifurcated stern 30 rises above the cross bar 17 and is equipped with a central slot 31 for. receiving the bolt 32 and for traveling the bolt 32 lengthwise of the stem 30. The bolt 32 in conjunction with the nut 33 supports the cross arm 34 which in turn supports the depending toes 35 and 36. The spacers 37 and 38 are disposed around the cross arm 34 in the area thereof between the stem 30 and the toes 3S and 36 on either side. The stem 30 is provided with a top piece 39 adapted to operate as a stop against the adjustable cross arrn 34 and to provide a iinger grip or hand hold portion.

The spacers 37 and 38 are connected by the web portion 49 which lies on the opposite side of the stem 30 to the cross arm 34 and assists in maintaining the cross arm 34 in alignment transverse to the stern 30 and that the spacers 37 and 38 wrap around cross arm 34 and enclose the cross arm 34.

In the event that it is desired to use the device as seen in Figs. 4-6 to make a narrow hem, the device is used identically to that disclosed in Figs. 1-3. However, in the event that hems of various widths are desired, the adjustable cross arm 34 is moved endwise ofthe stem 30 by loosening the nut 33 on the bolt 32 so that the cross arm 34 can slide lengthwise thereof and positioned at the desired point whereupon the nut 33V isl tightened on bolt 32 securing the cross arm 34 at the desired position.

The material is then looped under the toes 35 and 36 and over the stem 30 similar to the device seen in Figs. 1 3.

ln operation the tailor, seamstress, or amateur sewer determines the width of the hem desiredv such as 1, 2, or 3 inches as deined by the bottom edges 11, 11A, and 11B, Figs, l-3, or any other width of hem as set by the adjustable cross arm 34, Figs. 4-6, and then places the slide bar 1S adjacent the bottom edge of the material 13 and folds the free edge 14 backwardly thereon over the slide bar 1S and, Fig. 2, places the free edge 14 under the depending linger 19 thereby traversing the free edge of the hem 14 over the riser 16, under the linger 19, and over the depending toe 211 so that the edge 21 of the free edge of the hem 14 is placed in edgewise abutting contact with the adjacent bottom edge of the cross bar 17 such as the bottom edge 11 in Fig. 2. Upon establishing this relationship the user places the pin 4i) in the area below the depending finger 19 and then slides the hem gage to the left as seen in the drawing and adjusts the device and places another pin 40 at the desired interval. This operation is repeated until the whole hem is pinned and then the hem can be easily sewn on a machine.

ln making a hem on a circular piece of material, it is very easy to pleat the free edge 14 as pinning progresses so that pleats are all made in the material and the circular hem can be easily sewed. It is obvious that if a wider hem is desired the free edge 14 can be placed in edgewise abutting contact with the bottom edges 11A or 11B or against the bottom edge 41 of the adjustable cross bar 34 and the material pinned in the area of the hem immediately below the cross bar and preferably to the right thereof; the device is then moved to the left past the pinned portion to establish the hem at the next adjacent station.

While the device has been shown and described in conjunction with manual operation and pinning, it is considered within the purview of the invention that the hem gage can be connected to a sewing machine and the hem sewed as progressed through the hem gage with the hem gage being positioned relative to the needle of the machine just forward thereto so that the operator can establish the depth of the hem just prior to the sewing thereof. It is obvious also that the device can be established adjustably relative to the sewing machine so that any width hem can be accomplished.

The inventive hem gage with these features constitutes a compact, durable, neat appearing mechanism easily operated to prepare a hem for sewingor for sewing a hem immediately behind the gage and it is obvious that while the device is extremely useful it is also very inexpensive due to the fact that it is preferably made out of synthetic resin sheet material and made integral as seen in Figs. 1-3 and made from mechanically attached portions as seen in Figs. 4 6.

Although but a single preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described in detail in conjunction with one modification thereof, it is obvious that many changes may be made in the size, shape, detail, and arrangements of the various elements of the invention within the scope of the appended claims.

l claim:

1. A balanced hem gage for one hand manipulation comprising a bottom slide bar adapted to ride at the bottom of the trough of a hem, a riser xed to said slide bar at one end thereof having a top end for supporting a cross bar in spaced relationship to said slide bar, a cross bar xed to said riser top end and disposed above and parallel to said slide bar in spaced relationship to said slide bar, a centrally disposed depending finger on said cross bar extending toward said slide bar, a depending toe on said cross bar located at the projecting end of said cross bar extending toward said slide bar; said device being capable of receiving the folded edge of a hem over said riser, under said linger, and over said toe so as to edgewise engage the bottom edge of said cross bar with the top edge of said hem so as to regulate the width of the folded back hem portion by thel distance between the bottom edges of said slide bar and said cross bar so as to establish the width of a hem; a stern centrally connected to said cross bar above said linger and rising thereabove at right angles thereto, spaced cross arms disposed on said stern having bottom edges at different distances from the bottom edge of said slide bar, and depending toes on each said cross arm at either end thereof; said cross arms being adapted to receive the free end of a folded hem under said toes and over said stern so as to guide the edge of the folded hem in edgewise contact with the bottom edge of one of said cross arms so as to establish the width of the hem from the bottom of said slide bar, said stem providing a central balanced one-hand gripping means for holding the gage and cloth thereby freeing the other hand for pinning and providing a one hand means for moving the gage relative to cloth while thereby freeing the other hand for holding the cloth.

2. In a device as set forth in claim 1, at least one cross arm being adjustably frxable.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 167,543 Rumpel Aug. 19, 1952 944,094 Hilton Dec. 21, 1909 FOREIGN PATENTS 337,426 Germany May 31, 1921 

